Boiler-furnace.



J. M. CAMERON.

\ BOILER FURNACE.

APPLICATION EILED MAY 12, 1911. RENEWED 0OT.15, 1913.

1,093,9 1 1. Patented Apr. 21, 1914 3 SHIZE HEET l.

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. BOILER FURNACE.

APPLICATION EILED MAY 12, 1911. RENEWED 001.15, 1013.

1,093,91 1 Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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J.M.GAMERON.

BOILER FURNAGE. APPLIOATION FILED MAY]2,1911. RENEWED 00T.15,191& 1,093,9 1 1 Patented Apr. 21, 1914 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'e lwue/wiloz UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN M. CAMERON, OF JOHNSON CITY, TENNESSEE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO CAME-RON SMOKELESS BOILER COMPANY, OF JOHNSON CITY, TENNES- SEE, A CORPORATION OF TENNESSEE.

BOILER-FURNACE.

Application filed May 12, 1911, Serial No. 626,846. Renewed October 15, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN M. CAMERON, citizen of the United States, residing at Johnson City, in the county of Washington and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Boiler-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to steam boiler furnaces and particularly to boiler furnaces of the type illustrated and described in Patent No. 914,647, granted to \Villiam J. Ellis on the 9th of March, 1909, and illustrated in my application for patent, Serial No. 622,150, filed April 19, 1911, in connection with an improvement in boilers.

ioilers used in this type of furnace are crescent shaped in section above the fire box and nearly inclo-se a central flue by which the products of combustion are carried back to a combustion chamber. From the combustion chamber the products of combustion are carried through the boiler by means of return tubes opening into a smoke box at the front end of the boiler from which extends a stack or uptake. The furnace proper is located immediately below the central flue and coal is supplied to the fire pit by means of a hopper which extends up on each side of the boiler shell, the coal falling to the grate by gravity.

This type of boiler while particularly advantageous for burning soft coal, is open to certain objections. There is no means whereby coal may be fed steadily and at a predetermined rate from the hopper onto the grate, and there is no means whereby the coal may be held from its downward movement when desired. Further, there is no means whereby the fire on the grate may be readily deadened.

The primary object of my invention is to provide a boiler and furnace of this type in which the coal is automatically supplied to the grate by gravity, the rate of passage of the coal being determined by a mechanical feeder.

A further object is to provide means for supplying heated air to gases in the combustion chamber and to provide means for deadening the fire in the furnace and cooling off Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 21, 1914.

Serial No. 795,357.

the boiler without cleaning the grate of live coal and ashes.

A further object is to provide for a more effective combustion of soft coal.

These objects are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a boiler and furnace constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the boiler and furnace taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the boiler and furnace. Fig. 5 is a detail view of a portion of the supporting plate and hopper showing the inlet air passage and the cover.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

Referring to these drawings, it will be seen that the boiler 1 is crescent shaped in cross section, the space between the cusps of the crescent forming a Ushaped flue 2 open at its bottom to a furnace 3 which extends the entire length of the flue 2 and upward on each side of the cusps of the crescent, the furnace space proper 3 merging into and being continuous with a coal hopper which extends up on each side of the boiler, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

At the rear of the furnace the inverted open bottom flue 2 becomes cylindrical as at 5 and extends rearward from the boiler to a combustion chamber 6 formed upon or attached to the rear end of the boiler. The products of combustion pass from the combustion chamber 6 through the return tubes 7 to a smoke box 8 located at the front end of the boiler. The inverted open bottom flue 2, the cylindrical continuation 5 thereof and the combustion chamber 6 are each lined with fire tile 9 to protect the plates and rivets from intense heat and to assist in securing a more perfect combustion of fuel than is possible were the hot gases allowed to come in contact with the relatively cool surface of the boiler shell before combustion was completed.

In order to supply air for perfect combustion, I provide an air inlet 10 in the bridge wall 11, this inlet 10 being provided with an adjustable cover. The air entering this inlet passes to the point 12 where it divides into two streams passing around the flue 5 by means of a passage 13, this passage or cavity 13 accommodating the heads of the girth rivets 14. The air passes around the forward end of the fine 5 in this cavity 13 and thence enters a passage 15, provided in a fire tile lining, and is carried to the combustion chamber 6 where mixing with the gases from the furnace complete combustion is effected. The cold air in its passage around the girth rivets 14 prevents overheating of these rivets, and in the passage 15 the air is heated to the temperature of the gases with which it mixes in the combustion chamber 6. I thus secure a very perfectcombustion of the gases passing from the furnace 3 so that all the products of combustion are consumed before the gases pass into the tube 7 and out through the stack or uptake.

The combustion chamber may be formed in any suitable manner. As shown, it is formed by a wall 16 having an opening closed by a removable closure 17. A fire tile arch 19 is supported by cast iron arch bars 20. The combustion chamber may be mounted upon the end of the boiler shell in any suitable manner.

The ash pit 24 is formed by a brick setting 25 and supports the grate bars 26, the grate 26 being preferably arcuate in form. On each side of the grate 26 and resting on the walls 25 are the large specially constructed fire tiles 27 which extend the full length of the furnace. To these tiles are secured the heavy iron plates 28 (see Fig. these plates 28 extending the full length of the furnace as shown in Fig. 2. There are two of these plates, one on each side of the furnace located above the tiles 27 and projecting slightly above and beyond the tiles 27.

Mounted upon the plates 28 are the longitudinally reciprocatable feed plates 29. Each of these feed plates has a fluted or corrugated outer surface 30 as illustrated in Fig. 2, this fluted surface having ridges extending at right angles to the axis of the boiler. Each plate has longitudinal movement upon the supporting plates 28. Each of the fluted or corrugated plates 29 is connected by a rod 31 to an actuating lever 32 fulcrumed to the boiler front by lugs 33. By reciprocating the lever 32, which in the illustration has the form of a bell crank lever, the plates 29 may be reciprocated to any desired extent.

Disposed on each side of the boiler and spaced therefrom are the sheets 34 which with the boiler together form coal hoppers 35 extending down on each side of the boiler and opening into the furnace space 3. This coal reservoir hopper is preferably formed of sheet iron. Each plate 34 at intervals along its length is connected to the adjacent plate 2 by spacing blocks and. rivets so that a passage or space 36 is left between the plates. The lower margins of the sheets or plates 34 extend down a short distance over the feed plates 29, and the opening or passage 36 is closed by a plurality of hinged covers 37 of any suitable construction. These hinged covers are normally in a closed position but may be thrown open as shown in Fig. 3 to permit the inlet of air. On the left hand side of Fig. 3 there is shown one of the spaced blocks 38 whereby the plates 34 and 28 are held in proper spaced relation. The feed plates 29 may be guided upon the supporting plates 28 in any itable manner as by a slight flange 39, thus preventing the feed plates from moving downward out of their proper position.

Above the longitudinally extending opening 36 the walls of the hopper 35 are provided with a plurality of bosses 4O placed at intervals along the length of the furnace. Each of these bosses has a hole through the center through which a coal supporting pin 41 may be inserted, as will be later described. The rear wall of the brick setting which constitutes the bridge wall 11 extends up to a level with the surface of the fire tile lining in the cylindrical flue 5, and the front wall 42 of the furnace extends up to the top of the inverted fine. The boiler is preferably supported upon a pillar 43, and columns 44 (see Fig. 4) held in place by a channel iron 45 and foot plate 46 supporting a furnace front 47 which is bolted to the cast iron columns 44 and which is provided with a furnace door 48 and an ash pit door 49.

The interior construction of the boiler need not be described in detail as it is described fully in my pending application above referred to. It is sufficient to say that the boiler is braced against strain by means of a series of depending supporting rods 50 attached at their upper ends to the crown of the boiler and at their lower ends to angle irons 51 which extend over and are attached to the reiintrant portion 52 of the boiler shell which ineloses the line 2. The cusps of the crescent shaped boiler 1 are further braced by means of transverse tie plates 53, as described in my prior applici tion. The forward end of the boiler is pro vided with a hand hole 54 whereby access may be gained to the interior of the boiler, and the forward smoke box is provided with a door The operation of my improved furnace and boiler is as follows: Coal is supplied to the hopper 35 on each side of the boiler. This hopper may extend upward to any desired height and coal may be fed to it from an overhead conveyer, piped from a storage room at an elevation above the boiler, or may be wheeled up on an inclined my and dumped into the hopper. After the fire is started and the furnace is in full operation, the coal as it passes down the hopper toward the fire space 3 cokes. As the coked coal is consumed, the weight of the superincumbent mass of coal in the hopper causes a steady creeping downward of the whole mass of coal, the ashes being crowded to the middle portion of the grate 26. To assist in feeding the coal downward to the grate, the fluted or corrugated plates 29 may be reciprocated by applying power to the levers 32 and as a portion of the coal rests on these plates, any motion of the plates will accelerate the flow of coal downwardly. It will be obvious that these feed plates may be reciprocated independently of each other, thus equalizing any unequal descent of the coal, and that they may be reciprocated so as to cause an increased flow of coal at any desired time. The lever 32 might be con nected to mechanism whereby it could be given an automatic reciprocating motion and thus the feed of coal would be automatic and continuous. I have not shown any such mechanism as it will be perfectly obvious to any one skilled in the art. The stroke of the plates 29 may be of any desired extent and in this way any desired rate of feed may be easily obtained.

In a furnace constructed in accordance with my invention, the combustion is so complete that the ash is a fine powder and sifts through the grate as it is forced across the air space by the coal feeding downward. The openings 36 or passages along the sides of the coal hopper serve a twofold purpose. l/Vhen the covers are opened, the passages permit air to pass through to the coal in quantities sufficient to properly prepare the green coal for perfect combustion on the grate below. By adjusting the covers 37, any desired draft for this purpose may be secured. They also may be used in conjunction with the pins 41 for cooling off the furnace. To stop the coal from feeding downward, the pins 41 are pushed up through the holes in the bosses 40, and up through the coal, thus supporting the coal and preventing its descent. Then when it is desired to cool the furnace without disturbing the fire-on the grate, the ash pit door 49 is closed and the passages 36 are opened. The air entering these passages pass through the heated coal to the furnace, combustion stops slowly and the temperature of the furnace and boiler is gradually reduced. This is a very valuable feature of my invention. The gases distilled from the coal pass upward into the inverted U-shaped tile lined flue 2, then pass horizontally through the cylindrical tile lined flue 5 to the tile lined combustion chamber 6 at the rear. Both the inverted U-shaped flue 2 and the cylindrical flue 5 are preferably made of relatively small area in order'to concentrate the heat and secure a higher temperature than is possible where the gases are diffused in a passage of relatively large size.

It will be seen that the corrugated shaking plates or feed plates 29 not only act to cause the coal to feed downward at any desired rate of speed from the chute into the furnace space 3, but that they also constitute the means whereby air entering through the passages 36 is distributed through the coal, the space between the cofrugations or ribs upon the face of the plate permitting the air to pass downwardthrough the coal, and as the plate is oscillated, if the doors or covers 37 are opened, the air will pass down into diflerent portions of the coal and thus easily find its way to the fire space. The cover for the passage 36 may be made either as one long cover extending the full length of the passage, or as a plurality of short covers, any one of which may be independently opened. It will be seen that the plate 28 practically constitutes a slideway in which the feed plate may reciprocate.

It is to be particularly noted that complete combustion takes place in the combustion chamber 6 by reason of the fact that heated air passes along the passage 15 formed in the lining 9 of the flue 5 and passes out into the combustion chamber 6 in a heated condition best adapted for combining with the hot gases in the combustion chamber.

What I claim is:

l. The combination with a boiler, of a grate extending longitudinally beneath the boiler and a coal hopper extending longitudinally with relation to the boiler and extending down around the side of the boiler and opening upon the grate, of a reciprocable feed plate extending longitudinally parallel to and disposed within the hopper, said plate having a corrugated face, the corrugations of which extend transversely to the direction of movement of the plate and parallel to the direction of feed of the fuel, and means for longitudinally reciprocating said plate.

2. The combination with a boiler, of a grate extending longitudinally beneath the .boiler and a coal hopper extending parallel with the boiler and down around the same and opening upon the grate, the side wall of the hopper at its junction with the grate being formed with a projecting supporting face, and a reciprocable feed plate having its face extending parallel to the boiler but spaced therefrom and resting upon said supporting face, the face of the plate being corrugated, transversely to the direction of reciprocation of the plate and means for reciprocating said feed plate longitudinally of the boiler.

3. The combination with a boiler, of a I of the hopper and forming the lower wall of an air passage extending from the outer wall of the hopper to the inner face thereof, means for controlling the amount of air entering said passage, and a longitudinally extending reciprocable feed plate having its upper margin disposed in said passage, the lower mar 'in of the plate projecting out of the passage, the face of the plate being corrugated transversely to the line of movement of the plate, and means for longitudinally reciprocating said plate.

4:. The combination with a boiler, a grate extending longitudinally beneath the boiler and a hopper wall extending down around the boiler and spaced therefrom, the boiler forming the inner wall of said hopper, of a supporting wall adjacent to the lower margin of the hopper wall, a plurality of tiles supported on the wall and having inclined upper faces, a supporting plate carried upon the inside faces of said tiles and projecting above the same, the upper end of the plate overlapping the lower end of the outer Wall of the hopper and being spaced therefrom to provide air openings between the plate and the lower margin of the hopper, spacing members disposed at intervals in the said air openings, means for controlling the passage of air into said air openings, a longitudinally reciprocable feed plate mounted upon said supporting plate and having a corrugated face, the corrugations extending transversely to the line of movement of the plate and parallel to the direction of feed of the fuel, and means for reciprocating said feed plate parallel to the boi er and transversely to the direction of feed of the fuel in the hopper.

5. The combination with a boiler, a grate beneath and a coal hopper extending down to and opening upon the grate, said hopper being provided with a passage at its lower end extending longitudinally of the hopper and having air inlet openings, of a reciprocable feed plate located in said passage and formed with a corrugated face, said corrugations extending transversely to the line of movement of the plate and parallel to the direction of feed of the fuel and constituting air passages whereby air may be introduced into the interior of the coal.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN M. CAMERON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

